Tuesday, June 26, 2018


HEDSOR and all that JAZZ

I’m writing this this morning, before a visit to my dentist, and with the beginnings of a heat wave shinning through my windows. How can I excite myself, little own you, the reader of the blog, to come out and listen to jazz on Thursday?

Do I tell you what you will be missing? Well, until the music has been heard, I wont know what you might have missed.

However I can tell you that we have most of our regular Clive Burton Celebration Quintet coming to play this Thursday. On piano we will have Ken McCarthy, and on bass Peter Hughes. We are so lucky to have such experienced stalwarts of the British music scene coming to play for us. If you have the facility, go online and look them up.

They are joined by more names with more than just a little playing experience. On trumpet and flugel horn, Lester Brown, our newest member. On saxophone our entire reed section…. Mike Wills. Relative youth and much experience joined. Behind all of them, and making his frequent visits to the microphone, we have Martin Hart on drums. 

Did you know that Martin was an early member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mayall_%26_the_Bluesbreakers

Well he was. Although he never recorded with them, he was one of that legendary band.

Lester Brown and Mike Wills
The music the CBC Quintet play will be fresh, some of the tunes this week may never have been played at Hedsor before. So if you don’t come, you will miss it!! Like those of you who missed last week.

Last Week 
What a miss. In my view one of the best jazz sets of recent years at Hedsor Jazz. All of the music was real jazz. No arrangements apart from what was in their heads! John Donegan on piano, well we must have again. (At one point one very enthused member of the audience came behind me and said “Please can we keep this one!)?
John Donegan

Peter Cook

Steve Riddle

John Coverdale with Martin Hart
The Band
Steve Riddle on bass, we WILL have again (on July 5th). 

Peter Cook was on alto sax and will be with us again too, on 26th July, this time accompanied by guitarist Max Brittain.
Max Brittain on a previous visit in 2010
The guitarist Peter Cook was with last week was with us for the first time in some months, John Coverdale. He has recently been really unwell, BUT what a class act John Coverdale IS! Great to have him back at Hedsor.

And of course our regular drummer was there too, MARTIN HART.

It really was an exceptional evening. Those of us who were there just had to keep cheering the band. I do hope that those of you who missed it all, really enjoyed what you did instead, because last week was really special. That “really” word yet again.

And “Really Special” is what Hedsor Jazz does. Most weeks are good, some weeks are exceptional. Just like an audience, you can never predict it before hand! Best just to keep coming! Because you don’t really want to miss it DO YOU!! 

Hedsor Jazz ……….. a £7 bargain!

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